Really Rad, and why cross really is better here

I’ve had this idea all season to write a big think piece about why cross is better on the east coast. I’ve had a circuitous cross country journey over the last 5 years - NYC, to LA, to Denver (my hometown), and because I just couldn’t stop missing NYC, back to NYC. I never raced cross before I lived here for the first time but I really missed it when I left.

Cross obviously doesn’t make a lot of sense in Southern California, where the weather is always perfect. And the sizes of the fields makes it pretty obvious that people who live there agree. But back in Colorado I thought it would be just as much fun as it is on the east coast - the people are nice, the weather is crazy enough, and there’s a lot of interest in all kinds of bike stuff. But something was always missing. I thought it might be because all the races are so close to home, so nobody really sticks around all day. But it was more than that. It was missing something.

Traveling back to New York to race Really Rad last year was the first time I realized I really, really wanted to move back to New York. It was just so much fun! The drive was pretty, New England is insanely quaint and beautiful, and there’s something about a beach town in the off season. And my pals were there. Now that I’ve been racing cross since 2015, and battling some of the same personalities since 2015, a New England race is always like coming back to school in the fall.

Everything was easy in Colorado. You should see even the DMV - it’s new, and clean, and every appointment takes no more than 10 minutes. I had a cute little house and a cushy job working East Coast hours so I finished work at 3:30 most days. Cross was easy - no race was farther than an hour from my little house. But there wasn’t the sense that we were all in something together, wailing about traffic, asking how to clean out our bottom brackets, huddling under the tents in a rainstorm. Similar to living in New York, really. It’s not that easy. The DMV sort of sucks. Anyone who parks their car on the street is constantly thinking about when they have to move it. Everyone I meet who doesn’t live here is shocked that I ride a bike competitively while living here, or even to commute. But we’re in it together, and that’s what makes it kind of great.

Really Rad was great this year and I live in New York again. We had a terrific group of pals who traveled up 95 for over 4 hours to race our bikes in Cape Cod. We cheered for each other, pre-rode together, used each other’s wheels (thanks Alvaro), bought pastries for each other. We complained about the non-regulation, giant barriers.

I raced as hard as I could in a stacked Masters field and got fourth one day and fifth the next. I finally achieved the Holy Grail - the sub-400 Cross Results score. I conquered the Belgian Steps and finally rode them flawlessly on the last lap of the Sunday race. I had an extremely nice time.

I loved cross this year not because I had an amazing season - I had an average season. But I went to races with my teammates, my husband, and my dog, and I loved every minute.